While hearing aids aren’t the only solution to hearing loss, they are the most commonly used treatment for hearing loss. However, people often wait years before purchasing their first hearing aids, on average seven years. The reason is most likely due to cost, though denial and stigma play a part. Hearing aid pairs cost on average $4,700—but can range between $1,000-8,000— and unfortunately most states do not require insurance coverage of hearing aids for adults. [1]

 

Science clearly supports that the longer hearing loss remains untreated, the more damage is done and harder to restore. Science also shows that untreated hearing loss adversely affects overall health, contributing greatly to cognitive decline, mental illness and falls in the elderly. If the average hearing aid consumer waits seven years to purchase their first pair, then hearing healthcare is a crisis of awareness—not just for people of limited means—but for everyone. The unadulterated value of treating hearing loss, early and often, is compromised by our healthcare system. Medicare doesn’t even cover the cost of hearing aids, though hearing loss is considered the third most common chronic physical condition in the US, more prevalent than diabetes and cancer. [2]

 

While delayed treatment of hearing loss is too widespread, untreated hearing loss is far more critical and requires more effort than increased education and awareness. According to a study done by the University of Michigan, people who are non-Hispanic whites, college-educated or have incomes in the top 25 percent were twice as likely as those of other races, education levels or income ranges to have a hearing aid. [3] Therefore, it is clear that people of lesser means, education, and privilege suffer in silence, quite literally. The rate of poverty in Cleburne Texas is 3% higher than the national average and the median household income is 21% less than the national average. On a larger scale, untreated hearing loss makes a big financial impact to society no matter the age group—$750 billion globally. [4]  The younger the person, the more the disability of hearing loss becomes an issue of welfare, education, and employment. In the older person, hearing loss depreciates the quality of life by increasing the risk of mental decline and falls, which are estimated to cost $50 billion a year in the U.S. alone. [5]

 

From awareness to financial burden, Ephphatha 8 Foundation recognizes this need in Cleburne, Texas and desires to make hearing healthcare accessible for all people. Ephphatha 8 Foundation is galvanized to restore better hearing in this small patch of Texas, amplifying the impact of hearing on our lives and our communities.

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[1] Jennifer Walsh and Emily Raschke, “Americans Need Easier Access, More Affordable Options for Hearing Health Care- New Report,” accessed August 13, 2020, nationalacademies.org/news/2016/06/americans-need-easier-access-more-affordable-options-for-hearing-health-care-new-report.

 

[2] Masterson EA, Bushnell PT, Themann CL, Morata TC. Hearing Impairment Among Noise-Exposed Workers — United States, 2003–2012. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2016;65:389–394.

 

[3] Michael McKee et al., “Cost, Coverage and More Drive Hearing Aid Inequality, Study Finds,” accessed August 13, 2020, https://ihpi.umich.edu/news/cost-coverage-more-drive-hearing-aid-inequality-study-finds.

 

[4] “Deafness and Hearing Loss,” World Health Organization (World Health Organization, March 1, 2020), https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/deafness-and-hearing-loss.

 

[5] Kent Allen, “Older Adult Falls Cost About $50 Billion a Year,” AARP, March 13, 2018, https://www.aarp.org/health/conditions-treatments/info-2018/medicare-fall-costs-fd.html.